Fall is my favorite season. I love the leaves changing and the harvest and pumpkins and cool weather etc. It's an amazing time of year.

I haven't gotten to experience a good northern fall in years, and I am so excited for this one.

All that aside, some of the maple leaves on our trees have started to turn. Instead of joy and wonder, I am filled with panic. There is so much to do, the harvest is soon, some plants need to get planted, and some need to get picked. Then there is the processing of the harvest. The house needs to get "painted" to protect it in the winter. The garage sale needs to happen, because who wants to go to a garage sale when it's 40 degrees out? It all needs to happen and it needs to happen soon. I am not ready for the seasons to change, but that doesn't really have any effect. The words "Winter is coming" have never meant so much to me as they do this year. I've never had my own home to care for, and I've never had a harvest like this come in. Everything this year has been last minute and panicked. Maybe next year we'll get the plants in the ground on time. Maybe next year we'll be ready.

I doubt it.

This year has been a major learning experience for us, and though the thought of fall and the inevitable winter fills me with dread, I am also so excited to be up north for these things. One day, I will know (somewhat) what to expect with our garden and yard. One day, we won't be scrambling to make sure the house doesn't fall apart.

Even with all of this panic and dread roiling around in my head, I am so excited for a the leaves changing. The crisp feel in the air and the smell of decomposing leaves. I'm also excited about the snow and the winter, but that excitement might fade fairly quickly after our first streak of bitter cold... we'll see. :)

Since we have moved into our new house, there is always something to do. In fact, at any given time, there are always at least 5 things to do. That being said, we don't have time to do much except what needs to be done. It's a triage system. We don't always do what we want to do, we do what we need to do. It is mid-June and we just managed to get our garden in. I've already learned so much. I love playing in the dirt and doing things in the yard, which means that the things that need to be done in the house (like unpacking) are put on the back burner.

Anyway, here are a few pictures from the last month in Michigan.

Tilling up the garden.

Taking a break from working in the garden to fly some superhero kites.

Teaching Rommy that she isn't allowed in the garden... we're still working on it.

Giant mosquito bite of doom.

Dirt on the face... dirt everywhere!

The finished product!

There is a phrase that I use sparingly. When I say it, I really mean it. "good-looking". This is one of those times when I will use it. That is some good-looking soil.

And here are some random, fun pictures!

And here is a crazy Rommy story. So, Rommy likes to chase squirrels. She can tree them well enough, but she usually loses them. Honestly, she is pretty dumb about it. Anyway, here is a picture of me next to a tree (note the dirty knees) to give you a height comparison and then a video of Rommy attempting to chase a squirrel up a tree.

I have missed nature. I've been away from it for too long. Being out in the country and the quiet is refreshing on every level (mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually etc). You never realize how badly you miss it until you come back. So, here are some things I've experienced that I generally wouldn't have in the city: 1. Turkey out in the field strutting their stuff 2. Seeing a snake in the grass, knowing it wouldn't bother me if I didn't bother it, and not being bothered by sitting in the grass after that. 3. Picking wild asparagus 4. Hanging out with some carpenter bees 5. Raising some abandoned/injured squirrels 6. Bird watching (orioles, hummingbirds, robins, gold finches, barn swallows etc) 7. Rolling in the soft green grass 8. Star gazing on a clear night 9. Uncovering a neglected path that was butried under inches of dirt. 10. Squirrel hunting. Definitely not your average city experiences. I am loving it. All of it. It is a whole ton of work to rotate these images properly. I'm sorry for that, but I can't do anything about it right now.

We recently bought a house in Michigan. It's been pretty much awesome, there is a ton of work that still needs to go into this place. We thought we were buying it and not having to put much work into it, but it looks like the previous owners never actually finished any of their billion projects. I mean, it's good because then we get to add those finishing touches and make it a little more ours. At the same time, it's a lot of work.

We haven't really moved much up here yet, and it kinda feels like I'm house sitting... except I get to rearrange the furniture.

Sooo, for your reading pleasure, I'm going to list the things I'm looking forward to and the things I'm not so excited about. I'll leave it at around 10 so you get the basic idea.

Looking Forward to:

Moving everything in and finally having all my stuff together in one place for the first time in over 10 years.

Working on house projects (painting and decorating etc)

Having over 7 acres to run around on!

Chickens and ducks

Harvest and canning in the fall

Our first Christmas in our own house

Winter (don't remind me that I said this when I am complaining about the cold)

Gardens, gardens, gardens, and gardens

Camping in our front yard

HOT TUB!

No internet or tv.

Not so Much:

The act of physically moving things (furniture) up and down the stairs. I seriously don't have any idea how they got some of that furniture upstairs.

All those little projects that are actually hiding a bigger problem. Right now, the biggest issue is the red squirrel problem. They are destroying everything.

Deep cleaning, dusting, and washing everything before things can find their proper place in the house.

Finding out that the trees I thought would produce fruit are, in fact, just decorative. I know it's going to happen.

Restaining a lot of the wood in the house because whoever did it before did a really sloppy job of it.

Cleaning up the paint drippings, from the last time the rooms were painted, off the hardwood floors.

Rommy, long grass, ticks, and burrs.

As with anything, there are things I'm looking forward to and things I'm not. Overall, I am 100% excited to have a house, and I'm glad we got this one. It's pretty awesome, and I couldn't imagine us living anywhere else.